Critical and explanatory glosses on the Talmud, printed, in almost all editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes. The authors of the Tosafot are known as Tosafists ("ba'ale ha-tosafot"). For what reason these glosses are called "tosafot" is a matter of dispute among modern scholars. Many of them, including Graetz, think the glosses are so called as additions to Rashi's commentary on the Talmud. In fact, the period of the Tosafot began immediately after Rashi had written his commentary; the first tosafists were Rashi's sons-in-law and grandsons, and the Tosafot consist mainly of strictures on Rashi's commentary. Others, especially Weiss, object that many tosafot, particularly those of Isaiah di Trani, have no reference to Rashi. Weiss, followed by other scholars, asserts that "tosafot" means "additions" to the Talmud, that is to say, they are an extension and development of the Talmud. For just as the Gemara is a critical and analytical commentary on the Mishnah, so are the Tosafot critical and analytical glosses on those two parts of the Talmud. Further, the term "tosafot" was not applied for the first time to the glosses of Rashi's continuators, but to the Tosefta, the additions to the Mishnah compiled by Judah ha-Nasi I. "Tosefta" is a Babylonian term, which in Palestinian writings is replaced by "tosafot" (see Yer. Pe'ah ii. 17a; Lev. R. xxx. 2; Cant. R. vi. 9; Eccl. R. v. 8). The Tosafot resemble the Gemara in other respects also, for just as the latter is the work of different schools carried on through a long period, so the former were written at different times and by different schools, and gathered later into one body.

Up to and including Rashi, the Talmudic commentators occupied themselves only with the plain meaning ("peshaṭ") of the text; but after the beginning of the twelfth century the spirit of criticism took possession of the teachers of the Talmud. Thus some of Rashi's continuators, as his sons-in-law and his grandson Samuel ben Meïr (RaSHBaM), while they wrote commentaries on the Talmud after the manner of Rashi's, wrote also glosses on it in a style peculiar to themselves. The chief characteristic of the Tosafot is that they evidence no recognition of any authority, so that, in spite of the great respect in which Rashi was held by the Tosafists, the latter freely corrected him. Besides, the Tosafot do not constitute a continuous commentary, but, like the "Dissensiones" to the Roman code of the first quarter of the twelfth century, deal only with the difficult passages of the Talmudic text. Single sentences are explained by quotations which are taken from other Talmudic treatises and which seem at first glance to have no connection with the sentences in question. On the other hand, sentences which seem to be related and interdependent are separated and embodied in different treatises. It must be added that the Tosafot can be understood only by those who are well advanced in the study of the Talmud, for the most entangled discussions are treated as though they were simple. Glosses explaining the meaning of a word or containing a grammatical observation are very rare.

The Tosafot may be considered from the point of view of a methodology of the Talmud. The rules are certainly not gathered together in one series, as they are, for instance, in Maimonides' introduction to the Mishnah; they are scattered in various parts, and their number is quite considerable. Neither are they stated in fixed terms; a generally accepted rule is followed by "This is the way of the Talmud" or "The Talmud usually declares." Sometimes the negative expression is found, "This is not the way of the Talmud." A frequently recurring rule is indicated by some such formula as "We find many like this." It must be borne in mind that what has been said hitherto concerns the general features of the Tosafot, and does not conflict with the fact that the writings of different tosafists differ in style and method. With regard to method, it should be said that the Tosafot of Touques (see below) concern particularly the casuistic interpretation of the traditional law, but do not touch halakic decisions.

The chief home of tosafot literature was incontestably France, for it began with Rashi's pupils, and was continued mainly by the heads of the French schools. It is true that, practically, tosafot began to be written in Germany at the same time as in France, but the French tosafists always predominated numerically. The first tosafot recorded are those written by Rashi's two sons-in-law, Meïr b. Samuel of Ramerupt (RaM) and Judah ben Nathan (RIBaN), and by a certain R. Joseph (Jacob Tam, "Sefer ha-Yashar," No. 252; "Haggahot Mordekai," Sanh., No. 696; see below). But their tosafot not being otherwise known, the actual father of the tosafot in France was undoubtedly Jacob b. Meïr Tam, whose style was adopted by his successors. He wrote a great number of tosafot, many of which are to be found in his "Sefer ha-Yashar"; but not all, as many passages that are cited in the edited tosafot are not found in the work just mentioned. In Germany, at the same time, there flourished Isaac ben Asher ha-Levi (RIBA), leader of the German tosafists, who wrote numerous tosafot, which are mentioned by Abraham b. David ("Temim De'im," Nos. 158, 207-209), and which are very often cited in the edited tosafot (e.g., to Soṭah 17b). But Isaac ben Asher's tosafot were revised by his pupils, who, according to Jacob Tam ("Sefer ha-Yashar," No. 282), sometimes ascribed to their teacher opinions which were not his. Zedekiah b. Abraham ("Shibbole ha-Leḳeṭ," i., No. 225), however, refutes Jacob Tam's assertion.

The most prominent tosafist immediately after Jacob Tam was his pupil and relative Isaac ben Samuel ha-Zaḳen (RI) of Dampierre, whose tosafot form a part of the Tosafot Yeshanim (see below). Isaac was succeeded by his pupil Samson ben Abraham of Sens (d. about 1235), who, besides enriching the literature with his own compositions, revised those of his predecessors, especially his teacher's, and compiled them into the group known as the Tosafot of Sens (). Samson's fellow pupil Judah b. Isaac of Paris (Sir Leon) was also very active; he wrote tosafot to several Talmudic treatises, of which those to Berakot were published at Warsaw (1863); some of those to 'Abodah Zarah are extant in manuscript. Among the many French tosafists deserving special mention was Samuel b. Solomon of Falaise (Sir Morel), who, owing to the destruction of the Talmud in France in his time, relied for the text entirely upon his memory (Meïr of Rothenburg, Responsa, No. 250).

(1) Moses of Evreux, one of the most prolific tosafists, furnished glosses to the whole Talmud; they form a distinct group known as the Tosafot of Evreux ( or ). It may be presumed that the "Tosafot of R. Moses" mentioned by Mordecai b. Hillel ("Mordekai," on Sanh., No. 937) are identical with the tosafot just mentioned. According to Joseph Colon (Responsa, No. 52) and Elijah Mizraḥi ("Mayim 'Amuḳḳim," i., No. 37), Moses wrote his glosses on the margin of Isaac Alfasi's "Halakot," probably at the time of the burning of the Talmud.

(2) Eliezer of Touques, of the second half of the thirteenth century, made a compendium of the Tosafot of Sens and of Evreux; this compendium is called the Tosafot of Touques (), and forms the basis of the edited tosafot. Eliezer's own glosses, written on the margin, are known as the Tosafot Gillayon or Gilyon Tosafot. It must be premised, however, that the Tosafot of Touques did not remain untouched; they were revised afterward and supplemented by the glosses of later tosafists. Gershon Soncino, who printed these tosafot, declares that his ancestor Moses of Fürth, who lived in the middle of the fifteenth century, was a descendant in the fifth generation of Moses of Speyer, who is mentioned in the Tosafot of Touques. It is supposed that the last redactor of these tosafot was a pupil of Samson of Chinon.

(3) Perez ben Elijah of Corbeil was one of the most active of the later tosafists. Besides supplying tosafot to several treatises, which are quoted by many old authorities and are included among the edited tosafot (and many of which were seen in manuscript by Azulai), he revised those of his predecessors. His pupils were not less active; their additions are known as the Tosafot of Perez b. Elijah's Pupils.

It has been said that the first German tosafist, Isaac b. Asher ha-Levi, was the head of a school, and that his pupils, besides composing tosafot of their own, revised his. In the thirteenth century the German schools were represented by Baruch ben Isaac, in Regensburg, and later by Meïr of Rothenburg; the Italian school was represented by Isaiah di Trani. If the tosafot of Asher b. Jehiel (d. 1328) are to be included, the tosafistic period extended through more than two centuries. When the fanaticism of the French monasteries and the bigotry of Louis IX. brought about the destruction of the Talmud, the writing of tosafot in France soon ceased.

Mentioned in the novellæ on Tamid ascribed to Abraham b. David. Zunz ("Z.G." p. 57) thinks that the Tosafot of Sens may be referred to under this title; but the fact that Abraham b. David was much earlier than Samson of Sens leads to the supposition that the glosses indicated are those of previous tosafists, as Jacob Tam, Isaac b. Asher ha-Levi, and Isaac b. Samuel ha-Zaḳen and his son.

Collection of halakic decisions gathered from the edited tosafot to thirty-six treatises—Nazir and Me'ilah being excepted—and generally printed in the margin of the Tosafot; in the later editions of the Talmud, after the text. These decisions number 5,931; of these 2,009 belong to the treatise Berakot and the order Mo'ed; 1,398 to Niddah and the order Nashim; 1,503 to Neziḳin; and 1,021 to Ḳodashim. The decisions contained in the tosafot to Shabbat, Pesaḥim, Giṭṭin, Ketubot, Baba Ḳamma, Baba Meẓi'a, Baba Batra, and Ḥullin number fully one-half of those recognized as authoritative. The compiler of these decisions can not be identified with certainty; Asher b. Jehiel, his son Jacob b. Asher, and Ezekiel, uncle of Eliezer of Touques, are given by different authorities. Jacob Nordhausen, also, is known to have compiled tosafot decisions; in fact, references to two groups of "Pisḳe Tosafot" are found in the works of the later casuists.

This term is used by Joseph Colon (Responsa, No. 72) and by Jacob Baruch Landau ("Agur," § 327), and may apply to Talmudic novellæ by Spanish authors. Jeshuah b. Joseph ha-Levi, for instance ("Halikot 'Olam," § 327), applies the term "tosafot" to the novellæ of Isaac ben Sheshet.

The tosafot which have been published with the text of the Talmud ever since its earliest edition (see Talmud, Editions of). They extend to thirty-eight treatises of the Babylonian Talmud. Most of the treatises are covered by the Tosafot of Touques, some by the Tosafot of Sens; many are provided with the tosafot of various authors, revised by Perez b. Elijah's school. The authorship of the tosafot to seventeen treatises only can be established with certainty: Berakot, Moses of Evreux; Shabbat, 'Erubin, and Menaḥot, the Tosafot of Sens; Beẓah, Nedarim, Nazir, Sanhedrin, Makkot, and Me'ilah, Perez b. Elijah's school (many written by Perez himself); Yoma, Meïr of Rothenburg; Giṭṭin, Baba Ḳamma, and Ḥullin, the Tosafot of Touques; Soṭah, Samuel of Evreux; 'Abodah Zarah, Samuel of Falaise; Zebaḥim, Baruch b. Isaac of Worms. The tosafot to Mo'ed Ḳaṭon were written by a pupil of a certain R. Isaac; the author of the tosafot to Ḥagigah wrote tosafot to other treatises also. Those to Ta'anit belong to the post-tosafot period, and differ in style from those to other treatises.

Mentioned by Joseph Solomon Delmedigo ("Nobelot Ḥokmah," Preface) and Solomon Algazi ("Gufe Halakot," No. 195), the latter quoting these tosafot to Baba ḳamma. But as the same quotation is made by Bezaleel Ashkenazi ("Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet," to Baba Ḳamma) and ascribed to a pupil of Perez ben Elijah, Azulai ("Shem ha-Gedolim," ii.) concludes that these tosafot originated in Perez b. Elijah's school. Still, Mordecai b. Hillel ("Mordekai," B. B. on No. 886) mentions a R. Judah of Gornish, and Abraham ibn Akra ("Meharere Nemerim," Venice, 1599) reproduces Talmudic novellæ by "M. of Gornish" (Embden gives "Meïr of Gornish" in the Latin translation of the catalogue of the Oppenheim Library, No. 667). Manuscript No. 7 of the Günzburg collection bears the superscription "Tosafot of Gornish to Yebamot," and in these tosafot French and German rabbis are quoted. Manuscript No. 603 of the same collection contains also the Tosafot of Gornish and novellæ by Judah Minz, and fragments of Gornish tosafot are found in manuscripts in other libraries.

Different theories have been advanced with regard to the name "Gornish." According to Schechter ("Jew. Chron." May 4, 1888), it is a corruption of "Mayence," while H. Adler thinks it a corruption of (the English "Norwich"; see Neubauer in "R. E. J." xvii. 156, and Gross, "Gallia Judaica," pp. 136 et seq.). Gross (l.c.) thinks that Gornish may be identical with Gournay, in France, and that "M. of Gornish," apparently the author of the Tosafot of Gornish, may be Moses of Gornish and identical with the Moses of mentioned in the Tosafot of Sens (to Pesaḥim). It may be added that in the supplement to Zacuto's "Yuḥasin" (p. 164a, Cracow, 1581) a David of "Durnish" occurs.

This group comprises four smaller ones: (1) the general tosafot of Sens, including those appearing among the edited tosafot; (2) the earlier unedited tosafot (for example, those to Ḳiddushin by Isaac b. Samuel ha-Zaḳen of Dampierre, and those to 'Abodah Zarah by his son Elhanan b. Isaac); (3) a collection of old tosafot published by Joseph Jessel b. Wolf ha-Levi in "Sugyot ha-Shas" (Berlin, 1736); (4) various tosafot found in ancient manuscripts, as the tosafot to Ḥullin written in 1360, the manuscript of which is in the Munich Library (No. 236). In the collection published by Joseph Jessel b. Wolf ha-Levi (No. 3), besides the old tosafot to Yoma by Moses of Coucy (comp., however, Israel Isserlein, "Terumat ha-Deshen," No. 94, who declares they belong to the Tosafot of Sens), there are single tosafot to sixteen treatises—Shabbat, Rosh ha-Shanah, Megillah, Giṭṭin, Baba Meẓi'a, Menaḥot, Bekorot, 'Erubin, Beẓah, Ketubot, Ḳiddushin, Nazir, Baba Batra, Horayot, Keritot, and Niddah. In the recent WilnaTalmud edited by Romm the old tosafot to several treatises are printed.

The Tosafot quote principally Rashi (very often under the designation "ḳonṭres" [= "commentarius"?]), most of the tosafists, many of the ancient authorities (as Kalonymus of Lucca, Nathan b. Jehiel, and R. Hananeel), some contemporary scholars (as Abraham b. David of Posquières, Maimonides, Abraham ibn Ezra, and others), and about 130 German and French Talmudists of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Many of the last-named are known as authors of general Talmudic works, as, for instance, Eliezer b. Nathan of Mayence, Judah of Corbeil, and Jacob of Coucy; but many of them are known only through their being quoted in the Tosafot, as in the case of an Eliezer of Sens, a Jacob of Orleans, and many Abrahams and Isaacs. Some are even mentioned but once, as Eliezer of (Tos. B. B. 79b), Ephraim b. David (supposed contemporary of Judah Sir Leon; Tos. 'Ab. Zarah 39a), and one Hezekiah (Tos. B. B. 44b). A commentary on the Pentateuch entitled "Da'at Zeḳenim" (Leghorn, 1783) is attributed to the Tosafists. In form this commentary follows the style of the Tosafot; Rashi is often discussed, and sometimes corrected.

Of the great number of tosafists only forty-four are known by name. The following is an alphabetical list of them; many, however, are known only through citations:

His tosafot, entitled "Tosefot ha-Rosh" or "Tosefe Tosafot," appeared in various epochs and works. Many of them were inserted by Bezaleel Ashkenazi in his "Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet"; those to Yebamot and Ketubot appeared separately at Leghorn, 1776; to Soṭah, partly at Prague, 1725, and partly in Jacob Faitusi's "Mar'eh ha-Ofannim" (Leghorn, 1810); to Megillah and Shebu'ot, in Elijah Borgel's "Migdanot Natan" (ib. 1785); and to Ḳiddushin, in the "Ma'aseh Roḳem" (Pisa, 1806). They are included in Romm's recent edition of the Talmud.

Flourished at the end of the twelfth century; his tosafot are mentioned by Abraham b. David in his "Temim De'im" and in the edited tosafot to B. M. 11b and Sheb. 28a. His tosafot to Nedarim are referred to by Joseph Colon (Responsa, No. 52); those to Megillah, in Isaiah di Trani's "Ha-Makria'" (No. 31, p. 19d); those to 'Abodah Zarah, in "Mordekai" (No. 1364).

Brother of Samson ben Abraham of Sens. Like his brother, Isaac lived as a youth at Troyes, where he attended the lectures of Jacob Tam ("Temim De'im," No. 87), and afterward at Sens (ib.; "Haggahot Maimuniyyot," Ishut, No. 6). After the death of Isaac ben Samuel, Isaac ben Abraham succeeded him as head of the school of Dampierre, after which place he is often called ("Or Zarua'," i. 225a). Isaac ben Abraham was one of the French rabbis to whom Meïr ben Todros Abulafia addressed his letter against Maimonides' theory of resurrection. He died at Dampierre prior to 1210, not long before his brother Samson emigrated to Palestine ("Semaḳ," No. 31; "Mordekai" on Ketubot, No. 357). As he is mentioned often in the edited tosafot (Shab. 3a, passim; Yoma 20a; et al.) and by many other authorities ("Or Zarua'," i. 26b; "Shibbole ha-Leḳeṭ," i., No. 231), it may be concluded that he wrote tosafot to several Talmudic treatises. Those to Bekorot were in the possession of Ḥayyim Michael of Hamburg. Isaac ben Abraham is frequently mentioned as a Biblical commentator ("Da'at Zeḳenim," 3a, 48b, 49b, Leghorn, 1783; "Minḥat Yehudah," 3a, 13a), and his ritual decisions and responsa are often quoted ("Or Zarua'," i. 13b et passim; Meïr of Rothenburg, Responsa, No. 176; et al.).

Isaac ben Abraham ha-Baḥur may be identical with the liturgical poet Isaac b. Abraham who wrote a hymn beginning "Yeshabbeḥuneka be-ḳol miflal," for Simḥat Torah or for the Sabbath after it, and a seliḥah for Yom Kippur beginning "Hen yom ba la-Adonai" (comp. Zunz, "Literaturgesch." p. 335).

Pupil of Jacob Tam and one of the earlier tosafists ("ba'ale tosafot yeshanim"). He was the author of a commentary on Ketubot quoted by Isaac Or Zarua' (see Judah Minz, Responsa, No. 10). He is quoted very often in the edited tosafot (Yeb. 5b; B. Ḳ. 72a; et al.).

Grandson of Rashi, and brother of Samuel b. Meïr (RaSHBaM) and Jacob Tam; died before his father, leaving four children (Jacob Tam, "Sefer ha-Yashar," No. 616, p. 72b, Vienna, 1811). Although he died young, Isaac wrote tosafot, mentioned by Eliezer b. Joel ha-Levi ("Abi ha-'Ezri," § 417), to severaltreatises of the Talmud. Isaac himself is often quoted in the edited tosafot (Shab. 138a; Ket. 29b et passim).

Italian tosafist of the first half of the thirteenth century. The greater part of his tosafot were published under the title "Tosefot R. Yesha'yahu" (Lemberg, 1861-69); and many were inserted by Bezaleel Ashkenazi in his "Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet."

Lived in the middle of the thirteenth century; mentioned as an author of tosafot in "Mordekai" (to 'Ab. Zarah, Nos. 1244, 1279, 1295, 1356) and "Haggahot Mordekai" (to Shab. xiv.). Extracts from the tosafot of Israel's pupils were reproduced by Bezaleel Ashkenazi (l.c.).

Supposedly a contemporary of Meïr b. Baruch of Rothenburg, and perhaps identical with Judah ha-Kohen, Meïr's relative. In the extracts from his tosafot to Baba Ḳamma, inserted in the "Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet," he quotes, among many other authorities, his still living teacher, the Kohen whom Zunz ("Z. G." p. 42) supposes to be identical with Abigdor b. Elijah ha-Kohen. From the "Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet" to Baba Meẓi'a it is seen that J. Cohen wrote tosafot to the same treatise.

His tosafot are quoted as authoritative by Perez b. Elijah (glosses to "'Ammude Golah," p. 50a, Cremona, 1556), in "Kol Bo" (No. 114), and in "Mordekai" (Ḥul., No. 924). He is frequently quoted also in the edited tosafot.

Flourished, according to Zunz ("Z. G." p. 33), about 1150. Zunz identifies this Joseph with the pupil of Samuel b. Meïr whose glosses are quoted in the edited tosafot (to Ket. 70a), and thinks he may be identical with the Joseph of Orleans often cited in the edited tosafot (Shab. 12a et passim). If so, he must be identified, according to Gross ("Gallia Judaica," p. 34), with Joseph ben Isaac Bekor Shor. Weiss, however, suggests that this Joseph might have been either Joseph Bonfils, Jacob Tam's teacher, or Joseph b. Isaac of Troyes, one of Rashi's pupils. Thus it seems that in any case the tosafist mentioned in the "Sefer ha-Yashar" must be distinguished from the one mentioned in Tos. Ket. 70a, as the latter was a pupil of R. Samuel.

Son-in-law and pupil of Rashi, and to a great extent his continuator. It was Judah who completed Rashi's commentary on Makkot (from 19b to the end) and who wrote the commentary on Nazir which is erroneously attributed to Rashi. He wrote, besides, independent commentaries on 'Erubin, Shabbat, Yebamot (Eliezer b. Joel ha-Levi, "Abi ha-'Ezri," §§ 183, 385, 397, 408), and Pesaḥim ("Semag," prohibition No. 79). Finally, Halberstam manuscript No. 323 contains a fragment of Judah's commentary on Nedarim. It is generally considered that Judah b. Nathan wrote tosafot to several treatises of the Talmud, and he is mentioned as a tosafist in "Haggahot Mordekai" (Sanh., No. 696). He is often quoted in the edited tosafot.

Flourished in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; author of the "Sefer Keritut." In this work (i. 7, § 1; v. 3, §§ 120, 148) Samson refers to his glosses on 'Erubin and 'Abodah Zarah; he appears to have written glosses on other Talmudic treatises also.